For a deeper dive into the specific trends and data points discussed, the 2025 Crypto Crime Report provides extensive analysis and insights. We share the total value laundered on-chain in the report’s money laundering section, calculated based on the value sent from illicit addresses to off-ramping services. Because our research heuristics are designed to catch suspected instances of market manipulation based on on-chain behavior, but aren’t definitive. No, visiting dark web sites is not illegal, but engaging in illegal activities there is. Yes, the dark web is still active in 2025, with both legal and illegal content. Illicit drug sales, for example, are promoted on social media, where platform features such as recommendation systems are affording new means of illicit drug supply.
Market Share Of Darknet Markets Worldwide From January To November 2022, Based On Volume Of Money Deposited
Infostealer threat actors specialize in malware that harvests personal data without consent, such as login credentials, bank accounts, and social security numbers. Due to law enforcement, many markets now require invites, referrals, or verified PGP identities. Stakeholders, from law enforcement to market operators, will need to continuously adapt to the evolving environment. The landscape of darkweb markets is dynamic, influenced by technological, economic, and regulatory factors. This ability of dark web communities to thrive in disruptions reflects how dark web market users have become experts at adapting to risks, managing disruptions and rebuilding quickly.
Dark Web Marketplaces
Providing information on privacy protection is essential for legally operating web markets. This could stop the flow of stolen data through the supply chain and disrupt the underground economy that profits from your personal data. Other markets like Aurora, DeepMart, and WhiteHouse were also on track to reach the revenue of a midsize company if given a full year to earn.
Buy Real Money
Due to its extensive inventory and reputation for reliability, Brian’s Club has maintained a significant presence on the dark web.
North Korea Hacks Crypto: More Targets, Lower Gains
Our team searched the dark web and put together a list of the most active dark web marketplaces in order to assist you in monitoring illegal trade of products, cybercrime activity, and dark web trends in the dark web space. On the Reddit-style dark web forum known as “Dread,” users are trying to determine which vendors were compromised by the operation, Straight Arrow News found. From June 11 to 13, the agency said, a series of coordinated law enforcement actions targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, key vendors and technical infrastructure took place across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden. The market had more than 600,000 users and contained more than 17,000 listings for illicit substances. The closure of Hydra started the ongoing Russian darknet market conflict among Russian darknet marketplace operators.
NCSC Set To Retire Web Check And Mail Check Tools
- A hyperlink to or positive reference to or review of a broker or exchange should not be understood to be an endorsement of that broker or exchange’s products or services.
- Cryptocurrency-enabled drug sales also grew by over 19% from 2023 to 2024, reaching nearly USD 2.4 billion in volume.
- While not unprecedented, the cryptomarket Agora was wound down by its admins in 2015, this is definitely outside of the norm.
- In late June 2025, Abacus users reported withdrawal issues and decreasing trust in the platform.
- Historically, DNMs have usually cashed out their funds at centralized exchanges (CEXs).
Incognito Market runs 20,000+ listings and $2.8 million monthly trades with BTC and XMR, holding a 5% market stake. Archetyp Market delivers 28,000+ listings and $3.5 million in monthly trades using BTC and XMR, securing a 6% market share. Known for its robust escrow security and diverse offerings, Abacus is a top choice for 2025.
Biggest Darknet Markets
- Dark Web marketplaces are much like ecommerce websites on the Surface Web, but with one major difference — they mainly sell illicit and/or illegally obtained goods.
- H25.io is a premium directory in the Tor network, offering access to a diverse and meticulously curated list of onion sites.
- The darknet is a high-stakes environment where anonymity is paramount, scams are a risk (30% of links in 2025), and law enforcement looms.
- Whether you’re trading on Abacus or Vice City, these answers provide clarity for 2025’s darknet ecosystem.
- Following Operation Onymous, there was a substantial increase in PGP support from vendors, with PGP use on two marketplaces near 90%.
- Buyers and sellers interact via encrypted messaging (PGP keys), and funds are held by the marketplace until orders complete.
While they offer access to a variety of goods and services not available on the surface web, the legal and personal safety concerns cannot be overlooked. Consequences can vary based on jurisdiction, but potential outcomes include fines, arrest, and legal charges related to the purchase or sale of illegal items. The Tor network is a free software for enabling anonymous communication on the internet, primarily used to access the darknet. Hydra Market, which started operating on the encrypted and anonymous dark web in 2015, made up 80% of darknet sales and brought in about $5.2 billion in cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Several of the most prominent fraud shops – including Bypass Shop and Brian Dumps – appeared to face issues or shut down in 2022, according to Chainalysis, but it is still unclear why.
ToRReZ Market is a wallet-less market, which means you only send funds when making an order. Established in 2019, Versus quickly gained a reputation for a user-friendly UI and intuitive search options. By the time it was shut down in October 2013 and Ross Ulbricht arrested, the site had traded an estimated $183 million worth of goods and services. The goods and services on offer range from leaked credit card details, exploit kits, and hackers for hire to advertisements for hitmen services.
When WIRED asked Telegram about Elliptic's findings regarding both markets, the company responded with broad bans of Xinbi Guarantee and Haowang Guarantee accounts. By Elliptic's accounting in a January report, the market and its rebrand had facilitated more than $24 billion in total transactions, which would make it by far the largest single black market operation in the internet's history. Telegram's sudden move to ban the marketplace's accounts appears to have been spurred by WIRED's inquiry to Telegram late last week about new findings from researchers at the crypto-tracing firm Elliptic.
This particular marketplace surfaced in the middle of 2017 and had remained active ever since. If you’re looking for a vast selection to explore, but not just for drugs, Point, originally titled Tochka Market, is easily the best place to go. Another aptly named Darknet marketplace, but this time nothing to do with the Nasdaq or Stock Exchange. All the sellers found on the site seem to be of a high-quality, and there’s a rating system among users so you can find what’s good and what’s bad. Don’t let the humorous name lead you to think this isn’t a serious best darknet market, because it is.
In Q1 Of 2023, Prices Of DDoS Attacks On The Dark Web Ranged From $10 To $750
Authorities confiscated millions in crypto, luxury cars, phones and drugs during simultaneous raids. They seized Archetyp’s servers in the Netherlands, arrested the alleged 30 year old German admin in Barcelona, and targeted high volume vendors. Unlike Western markets, Hydra was Russian language only and became the dominant hub for Eastern European and global cybercrime. By far the largest darknet market by volume was Hydra, launched in late 2015 in Russia. Coincidentally, those admins carried out an exit scam first stealing roughly $11 million in user escrow funds in mid April. Like others, WSM sold tons of drugs, fake goods and hacking software.
Archetyp launched in May 2020 and quickly grew to become one of the most popular dark web markets with an estimated total transaction volume of €250 million (A$446 million). The durability of these markets tells us that if policing responses keep following the same playbook, they will keep getting the same results. In addition, German Federal Criminal Police seized cryptocurrency wallets containing $25 million in bitcoin from the marketplace, the DOJ said. Vice City offers a user-friendly platform with strong escrow. Alphabay rose to prominence with 400,000+ users and $600M yearly trades, ending in a 2017 bust. The first major darknet market pioneered BTC trading, processing $1.2 billion before its 2013 shutdown.
These vendors had more than $140 million in revenue over an eight-month period. Finally, the data is purchased by consumers who use it to commit various forms of fraud, including fraudulent credit card transactions, identity theft, and phishing attacks. The stolen data supply chain begins with producers—hackers who exploit vulnerable systems and steal sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank account information, and Social Security numbers.
On the dark web, Tor encrypts your data and bounces it through multiple servers around the world before reaching the destination website. This deep web encompasses everything not indexed by search engines, including private databases, paywalled content, and, yes, the dark web. The market has 22% and 17% of the market share, respectively.
